Getting a "dancer's physique" rather than a CrossFit/weightlifter's one?

I have full respect and admiration for CrossFitters, but it's not really something that I'm into or can afford. I'm more interested in the "functional" components/results borne out of good fitness, like the ability to dance well or rock-climb or hike or engage a good game of Ultimate Frisbee (without embarrassing myself) for hours on end, should situations call for that. My question is: if I'm looking more to develop lean muscles and tone rather than lots of muscle mass, how should I go about doing that?

CrossFit and lifting weights works wonders with some women, but I'm not really interested in it. It's not that I want to shrivel up and become skinny, either. Any suggestions? In the case of wanting mainly to get lean and toned, is it more a matter of eating Primally rather than exercise? Or?

Lift heavy things. Walk. Sleep. Eat well. You won't get bulky because you don't have enough testosterone, among other things. But if you want to look "toned" you absolutely must lift heavy things, be it your body weight or iron.

. . . I'm more interested in the "functional" components/results borne out of good fitness, like the ability to dance well or rock-climb or hike or engage a good game of Ultimate Frisbee . . .how should I go about doing that?
. . .

Go out and dance, and rock climb, and hike, and play ultimate frisbee. Play, and have fun, and do it as much, and as hard, and as often as you can.

Which dancer look do you like? Ballet, modern or ballroom. I ask you this because depending on what look you are talking about they require different types of training. For the most part they all do some type of ballet training. These women do not typically lift weights or expose themselves to other forms of training unless they have been asked to.

Believe it or not Pilates is something that is done as part of the conditioning process. There's a lot of focus on strengthtening the core. They dance for hours and its a great cardio burn. These people also have nutritionist to advice them what they should be eating. Anyway for the most part they have low body fat percentage that is why they look really lean.

It's not about eating primally per se but this way of eating will likely get you to the goal that you want.

The link you provided; is that the look that you want. No offense to the success story lady but that is really not a dancers body. You can look like that by losing body fat. People naturally tighten up when they lose substantial amount of weight. At this point lift heavy and trust me you will not look like a man. It is very difficult to build muscle as a woman unless you are intentionally doing it. Even that will not turn you into a Ms. Olympia. Essentially your muscles do not tone. You do have some lean muscles but if fat is covering them then you will not see it.

Which dancer look do you like? Ballet, modern or ballroom. I ask you this because depending on what look you are talking about they require different types of training. For the most part they all do some type of ballet training. These women do not typically lift weights or expose themselves to other forms of training unless they have been asked to.

Believe it or not Pilates is something that is done as part of the conditioning process. There's a lot of focus on strengthtening the core. They dance for hours and its a great cardio burn. These people also have nutritionist to advice them what they should be eating. Anyway for the most part they have low body fat percentage that is why they look really lean.

It's not about eating primally per se but this way of eating will likely get you to the goal that you want.

The link you provided; is that the look that you want. No offense to the success story lady but that is really not a dancers body. You can look like that by losing body fat. People naturally tighten up when they lose substantial amount of weight. At this point lift heavy and trust me you will not look like a man. It is very difficult to build muscle as a woman unless you are intentionally doing it. Even that will not turn you into a Ms. Olympia. Essentially your muscles do not tone. You do have some lean muscles but if fat is covering them then you will not see it.

You make some good nuances, Cayla. I think what I'm trying to get at, even more so than a "dancer's physique", is the lean, taut, agile appearance of a gymnast. I suppose that's "thin," but a healthy thin. What I'm trying to do is first lose body fat, and then maybe on some muscle (which will happen in the process, I guess).

Lift heavy things. Walk. Sleep. Eat well. You won't get bulky because you don't have enough testosterone, among other things. But if you want to look "toned" you absolutely must lift heavy things, be it your body weight or iron.

It depends on your bodytype and hormonal profile, of course, but generally for women lifting weights or doing any kind of workouts that require heavy resistance training does not mean bulking up - our testosterone levels are more than 10 times lower than those of men and we cannot build muscle as effectively. What you see on olympians and bodybuilders is a result of strict selection, ridiculous amount of training and often testosterone shots and/or steroids (especially in bodybuilding).
I have been lifting really seriously 4 times a week for 2 years (my PT is a trainee of Charles Poliquin, so the programmes he gives me are mental for an average gym goer). During this time my muscle mass has increased by 2 kg or so - miserable really. In the meantime I have gone down to 15% bodyfat and recently someone was shocked to hear that I was a "weightlifter". "But you look like a runner" they said. I didn't know whether to take it as a compliment or an insult I have never done much chronic cardio in my life, never will.
So don't be afraid of lifting, it's the straightest way to a lean, healthy physique. And you can always incorporate some of it in other workouts, if you really don't like lifting as such.

^+1. It takes some pretty major lifestyle changes beyond just lifting weights for a woman to bulk up - not just training, but diet and supplements, all have to be targeted around that goal.

For me, yoga and pilates on their own don't have enough of a calorie-burning impact to get me to the body I want (I am about 15lbs away from my goal weight). I do resistance training three times a week but also play netball, paddleboard and swim to get some movement in there too. I also find yoga immeasurably boring - but that's just me!

I stumbled across this blog post yesterday - Don&#039;t Train Like a Guy - it's a bit old but what I liked is the emphasis on training right. I see so many girls at the gym who stick to teeny-weeny weights and have terrible form - not only are they not going to see the changes they're looking for, but they might actually hurt themselves.